A Fool And His Folly
by tielan
Summary: Bates has decided that the Pegasus Galaxy doesn't like him. [Teyla&Bates]


**NOTES**: Written for the Teyla/Bates mini-a-thon. Smittywing wanted teamwork, offworld, and post-siege, and I obliged. It's not actually romantic, although there's a touch of UST. I can't quite imagine them getting down and dirty, or even being friends - but not-enemies having to work together? That works for me!

**a fool and his folly**

Stephen Bates has decided that the Pegasus galaxy doesn't like him.

Behind him, he hears the _whump_ of a Wraith stunner, and automatically flinches. That he flinches against Teyla Emmagen is due cause for annoyance, and that she stumbles a little, enough to bring them both down into the too-damp soil of this miserable planet, is cause for even more.

The burst of hot anger in him has to absolutely nothing do with the fact that he lands on top of a body that's still full of female curves amidst the lean muscle, or that she rolls them over and a moment later he is on his back, and she is climbing to her feet, turning to face the approaching Wraith with a P-90 in her hands.

As he struggles up amidst the burning pain in his foot, Bates is grateful for both Ford's willingness to teach Teyla Earth weaponry - even if he thought it was about as sane as giving a gun to a monkey - and Teyla's insistence on being taught.

He's not very grateful for her chiding as he tries to get up. "Lie still."

Bullets chatter from her gun in a steady stream and she holds the weapon steady against the recoil, her expression as cold and hard as he remembers. Elsewhere amidst the trees, the locals scream and run from the Wraith darts swooping through the air.

The last time Bates left the Pegasus Galaxy, it was on a stretcher after being beaten up by a Wraith.

He _really_ shouldn't have bothered coming back.

Assorted generals and commanders offered him positions in various commands throughout Earth and the Milky Way. He didn't _need_ to come back - it's not like Atlantis needs him the way it does Sheppard, or McKay, or Dr. Weir. Yet he returned to the scene of the crime - like a dog to vomit, as his Aunt Miriam would have bluntly said.

And, true to form, his first mission back in the Pegasus Galaxy features the Wraith again. And his least-favourite person in Pegasus, Teyla Emmagen.

At least she doesn't come with her team-mates this time. They're laid up in Atlantis with what the infirmary staff are calling 'the Pegasus Sneezles' and which only seems to affect men. It's frustrating enough dealing with Teyla without having to deal with three rather formidable men on the way.

"Can you get up?"

"I thought you wanted me to lie still." Bates weathers her frown as he climbs to his feet, unaided. But in spite of the ache in his foot and his shortness of breath as he gets to his feet, he's got a smile lurking inside him. It might not be nice to needle her, but they've never been 'nice' to each other. Polite, maybe, but not _nice_.

This Wraith is down, and the darts are fading in tone, but Bates doesn't think it'll last. Apparently, neither does Teyla. She ducks beneath his arm, supporting him with her left side, but her weapon is still firmly held in her right. "We should move," she says with brisk purpose. "Most of the Marachi have made for the cave line where they can hide when the Wraith come. Can you run?"

Bates isn't so sure he can, but he's not about to let her know he can't.

It's more of a jog-hobble than a run. Every step is like fire, and his ankle feels twice its usual size, but Bates grits his teeth and runs on. They weave in and out of the trees like a couple of drunks in a three-legged race, avoiding the arrow-straight paths of the darts, lagging behind others who aren't hindered by a twisted ankle.

When he glances at his companion, she's got a grim look on her face, but her eyes are half-closed, curling lashes shadowing her eyes like she's not on the run through a wet forest, but somewhere else entirely.

He remembers that proud, closed profile starting on the warpath through Atlantis, her mind taken over by the Wraith before he shot her with the stunner. Has she gone Wraith-y again? If so, she's not going to stay that way for long. Resting on her far shoulder, his hand bites into her arm, deliberately dragging her out of whatever trance she's gone into and her eyes flare open.

"Sorry," he mutters, knowing he sounds nothing of the sort, "Landed the wrong way. Are we there yet?"

"Soon," Teyla says with acerbity. "However, if you keep poking your brother then I shall make you get out and walk."

In spite of himself and his distrust of this woman, Bates lets out a short snort of amusement. His question wasn't intended to be funny, but her response _is_ - all the more since he wasn't expecting it.

Heightmeyer and MacKenzie would probably say something about coping mechanisms in times of stress. The situation's stressful enough that neither he nor Teyla care to add to it, hence the humour. Slightly gallows but they're not dead yet.

Still, Bates is bemused by the amusement both given and returned - enough to not be paying attention when Teyla makes a sudden noise and shoves him to one side, away from her in a hard thrust.

Even as he flails for balance, Bates hears the stunner's _whump_, and reaches for his sidearm. His elbow jars as he hits the ground and rolls out of the way of the next stunner blast, bringing his weapon up against the Wraith now approaching them with some caution. And if his sighting isn't perfect to begin with, he nails the creature on the second shot and keeps the Beretta steady on it as his finger pulls on the trigger again and again and again.

The overhead whine of a dart alerts him to the fact that both he and Teyla are down and the Wraith are still out hunting. He can't tell, but he thinks his Wraith is down for the count, even if the thing isn't dead. And the dart's coming. If he doesn't move, then he and Teyla are dead.

He crouches down to haul her up and shakes her without any kindness or grace. She's too heavy for him to carry on a wounded foot, and he's not good enough to play chicken with a Wraith dart. But he knows better than to leave anyone behind on a mission - and especially this woman.

"Teyla!"

Her lashes flutter, straining to lift, before flying up as though a weight was lifted from them. Her gaze fixes on something behind him and he feels his scalp prickle. Even as he turns, she's pushing off the ground with focused, concentrated strength, and dragging him along with her.

In his ears, the pulse of his own blood batters his consciousness as the dart screeches overhead. Bates doesn't see where the flickering beam falls - the world is too full of Teyla and the jolting, disjointed melangé of their surroundings as they roll in dirt and leaves.

The dart screams by, it's engine whine full of frustration.

Bates stares into Teyla's face, a bare inch beneath his on the ground. His mind's still scattered from the confusion of the last few moments, he's running on adrenaline as much as will, and he's just escaped death. It's probably why he relaxes a little - just a little.

Her lips are soft and full, but his instincts are in control right now and his lips slide along the lower curve of her mouth as his pulse thuds loudly in his ears.

Then he's rolling over as Teyla shoves him off - no struggling, but a heave that makes her thoughts on the matter of Stephen Bates and any intimacy with him quite clear. Her lip is curled and her eyes are furious black. She's shaking as she climbs to her feet. "Do not presume, Sergeant Bates." Her voice could carve diamond, and Bates has no doubt that if any of her team-mates were here - yes, even McKay - he'd be in all kinds of extra trouble.

He's in enough trouble with Teyla, already.

One hand brushes across his mouth, smudging the taste of her across his lips. He's not quite able to comprehend what he just did, but this isn't the time for thinking such things. "Where are the caves?"

Teyla gathers herself, and indicates the direction, turning on her heel to perform a lightning-fast recon of the area. "We should hurry; the darts will return." She takes two steps towards the caves before she realises he can't run on his ankle. Her jaw firms, and if looks could kill, hers would.

For a second, Bates wonders if she'll up and leave him, then she ducks back under his arm and her own arm comes around his shoulders.

"Thanks."

The silence stretches long enough that he figures he's not getting a response.

"Colonel Sheppard always complains of the paperwork involved when one of the military personnel is killed," she says coldly as they limp towards rocky safety. "I would spare him the unnecessary effort."

In spite of her tone and what she's saying, Bates can't quite hold back a short laugh. The bitch really does have bite once she gets her fangs out.

She turns to glance up at him, suspicious of his amusement, but he doesn't explain. There's no explaining this, not to her, not to anyone in this galaxy, or back home.

Certainly, he's not going to tell anyone that Teyla Emmagen smells of sandalwood and tastes of citrus. Or that he's probably going to have a few fantasies about nailing her on the forest floor while her hands clench on him, urging him on with every thrust.

They reach the safety of the caves without incident, and find Captain Amherst among the Marachi. Amherst is playing it calm and confident as the lookout against any approaching Wraith - but relief stains his face when they limp in.

"Is he all right, ma'am?"

"He is conscious and capable of telling you himself," Teyla says before Bates can point this out to the anxiously hovering Captain.

He doesn't get a chance to say anything anyway. Teyla doesn't quite dump him on the floor, but it's close enough. He bites back a snippy retort at her, figuring she's got a right to be angry, and that he should say something about it. He catches her attention. "I apologise for what happened out there."

It sounds stilted and formal, but there's a moment when she freezes, and her eyes sweep his face, measuring him for honesty.

Bates stares back at her, not friendly, but respectful. He doesn't see her as a danger to the expedition the way he did; that doesn't mean he has to like her. He guesses she hasn't given him a second thought after he went back to earth; that doesn't mean she's not aware of him now.

He's rather pleased by it.

After a moment, her left brow arches, and her smile is cool and challenging. "It is nothing of which to be ashamed. Sometimes we all need someone to lean on."

Bates narrows his eye as she almost shakes him off, before he smiles, not entirely grudgingly. And, after a moment she flushes and turns and walks towards the entrance to the caves with careful deliberation.

He keeps the full force of his smirk inside until after a curious Amherst has gone back to guarding the cave mouth. Then he lets it rest on his lips for a moment, the way his lips rested on hers.

The Pegasus galaxy might hold no fondness for him, but it's definitely growing on him.

**fin**


End file.
